1. The Parliamentary Assembly has
been drawing attention to the tragedy playing out in the Mediterranean Sea
since its Resolution
1872 (2012) “Lives lost in the Mediterranean Sea: who
is responsible?”. Other texts followed, in particular Resolution 1999 (2014) “The
left-to-die boat: actions and reactions”, Resolution 2000 (2014) on the large-scale
arrival of mixed migratory flows on Italian shores, Resolution 2050 (2015) “The human
tragedy in the Mediterranean: immediate action needed” and Resolution 2088 (2016) “The Mediterranean
Sea: a front door to irregular migration”. The Assembly held an
urgent debate entitled “International obligations of Council of
Europe member States: to protect life at sea” on 27 June 2018 and
has adopted several other texts which refer to the situation in
the Mediterranean Sea and the need to find remedies.

2. The Assembly’s great dismay at the high number of lives lost
in the Mediterranean Sea by migrants who are trying desperately
to reach Europe on makeshift boats persists. It calls on member
States to respect their international obligations and co-ordinate
their efforts to protect lives at sea. Although migratory flows
have now decreased to a fraction of the numbers recorded in 2015,
the situation can still be described as an emergency. In the case
of Greece, for instance, the number of migrants has increased by
150% over the past few months. Over the past six years, almost 20
000 persons have perished during their perilous journey across the Mediterranean.
This situation is untenable and should be remedied without further
delay. The Assembly welcomes the emerging agreement of some European
Union member States on the relocation of people rescued at sea by
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and others, and urges more
countries to join this agreement. Likewise, it calls on each European
Union country to accept its responsibility, and welcomes the readiness
of the Mediterranean States to co-operate.

3. The European Union’s successive Triton and Sophia sea and
(now only) air operations, resulted in a reduction of nearly 32%
of arrivals on the Italian coasts between November 2016 and November
2017 and have saved over 200 000 lives since 2014. However, the
European Union’s continued priority given to border control and
its tendency to promote the externalisation of asylum claim processing
to countries and regions outside its frontiers have not yielded
convincing results, and may be said to have increased the risks
to which refugees and asylum seekers are exposed and indeed, to
which they are ready to expose themselves, in their efforts to reach
safety.

4. The Assembly welcomes the commitment of non-governmental organisations
but insists that it is the duty of States not to let people drown
in the Mediterranean. In the light of the continued denial of the
basic human rights of migrants in the Mediterranean, in an effort
to avoid further tragic deaths and to provide the right of access
to international protection and asylum procedures, the Assembly
urges member States to:

4.1. place
the rescue of men, women and children in the Mediterranean above
political and other considerations and recognise this action as
being an imperative for guaranteeing the implementation of the universal
principles underlying respect for human life and assistance to people
in mortal danger;

4.2. recalling Resolution
2299 (2019) on pushback policies and practice in Council
of Europe member States, refrain from any action leading to pushbacks
or collective expulsions, for these acts constitute a violation
of rights of international asylum law: the right to asylum, the
right to be protected against refoulement and
the right to access an asylum procedure;

4.3. devote special attention to assistance for vulnerable
refugees and migrants such as children, people from LGBT+ communities,
women, disabled persons and those in need of particular medical
or psychological support;

4.4. launch a new European Union rescue mission;

4.5. in line with the Council of Europe Convention on Action
against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No. 197), take united
action to stop trafficking in human beings, and combat people smuggling in
co-operation with other international organisations;

4.6. respect the terms of international conventions, in particular
the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue and the
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air supplementing
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;

4.7. ensure respect for the principle of non-refoulement, in particular in the
context of joint rescue operations, where the prohibition of refoulement cannot be collectively
evaded under the obligations stemming from refugee law and the European
Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5);

4.8. for those countries concerned, contribute to the implementation
of the United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular
Migration and Global Compact on Refugees;

4.9. support all proposals aimed at implementing more efficient
relocation and thus share responsibility for migration management
on the basis of reliable and efficient solidarity;

4.10. welcome the agreement reached in Malta by the Interior
Ministers of Finland, France, Germany Italy and Malta on 23 September
2019, strongly hoping that as many EU member States as possible
will join it;

4.11. ensure that these initiatives are taken with full respect
for the principles set out by the Assembly in its previous resolutions
and recommendations, as well as those of other Council of Europe
entities, in particular the Commissioner for Human Rights in her
recommendation “Bridging the protection gap for refugees and migrants
in the Mediterranean” of June 2019;

4.12. further ensure that any action taken is in line with the
standards and principles proposed by international partners, such
as the joint United Nations High Commission for Refugees/International Organization
for Migration 2018 proposal for a regional disembarkation mechanism;

4.13. as stated in previous Assembly texts, allow non-governmental
organisations to carry out their life-saving missions in the Mediterranean,
recognising their capacities to organise rapid-reaction rescues, and
refrain from stigmatising the work of NGOs;

4.14. in particular, ensure that captains of all vessels rescuing
migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean are able to disembark
them in the nearest port of safety (as provided for by international maritime
law), and that once rescued at sea, migrants are brought to safe
places of reception where their basic needs are provided for through
adequate living conditions, appropriate conditions to uphold the right
to apply for asylum, and for asylum procedures to be dealt with
efficiently. Specific attention should be given to the care and
conditions of children, and the provision of child-friendly support
and information;

4.15. increase regular and legal routes to Europe through resettlement
programmes, humanitarian visa and swifter family reunification procedures, inter alia, so that people may apply
for these rather than embarking on the irregular and deadly journey
across the Mediterranean;

4.16. reconsider the training, financing, equipment and logistical
support provided to the Libyan Coast Guard by the European Union
and its member States. A pre-condition for co-operation should be
the full implementation of human rights standards set forth by the
Council of Europe and other European and international institutions,
and full respect for the Geneva Refugee Convention and related United
Nations treaties.

5. The Assembly also urges the European Union to accelerate its
work on revising the Dublin Regulation, on agreement and standards
for safe third countries, without undue concentration on the externalisation
of asylum processing. It recommends that future European Union presidencies
give greater priority to putting an end to avoidable deaths in the
Mediterranean Sea and build on current positive debate among member
States willing to share the responsibility for reception and integration
of refugees and asylum seekers, so as to ensure equal sharing of
responsibility among member States.